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Rutherfordiana/Source Material Extracts/Margaret Walker
Source Margaret Walker, the daughter of James Alexander Walker, apparently corresponded with Emma Siggins White. White, 1902:282 states "Margaret, who lives on the old home at Jump P.O., Rockbridge County, Va. gives some interesting incidents connectied with the family history. She says:...." This phrasing implies that White had correspondance with Margaret. Extract :Squire Joseph Walker, grandson of Alexander (called Sandy), was a fine marksman; always used one those old guns made by the John Walkers....There is an old fort about one-half mile from our home that our Walker ancestors helpfed to build about the year 1734, and I think that James, son of John and Katherine, lived there. He lies buried on the hill near this fort which is now owned by Mr. Stuart. It has been in the Stuart family for years. :I have an old Bible that belong to my grandfather, John Walker. Mother thinks it is the one that Alexander, who married Jane Hammer, used, and left here when he went to Highbridge to live. It has recorded in it the death of Alexander, also some other dates. The grave of John Walker is not marked; that of his wife, Margaret, who is buried by his side, is marked by a limestone rock placed there by my father. :John and Katherine emigrated to America in 1726 or 1728; my father and grandfather always said it was 1726, other settlers thought it was 1728. John, in company with other emigrants, visited the Valley of Virginia where a Mr. Hays had settled a few years before, all this section of country at that time being a forest. Finding the climate milder, and the soil fertile and everything attractive, he concluded to settle here, decided on a location, cleared off a portion of land, erected a log cabin and then returned to Pennsylvania, expeting to bring his family, but sickened and died soon after, and there he was buried. In the fall of 1734 Alexander and his two cousins removed to Virginia, and later the most, if not all, of the family left Pennsylvania and came to VIrginia. Later some of them went to Kentucky and some to what is now Augusta County (2). Alexander, son of the immigrant, remained in Rockbridge. His father had, I think made a payment on the land selected and it has remained in the family ever since. The farm houses were built near a fine, large spring. The present house was built by my father in 1857 (3), the kitchen part of which is still standing. John Walker was said to have been a good and pious man of wodnerful strength, and one that stood high in Scotland as a God fearing man of prayer and good deeds, being noted as an unusually brave man. Katherine, his wife, and Isabell Allein, his grandmotherwere said to have been good, pious women. I have often heard my grandfather talk of these old people, the story having been told him and handed down from generation to generation as a precious legacy. There is an old chair which th emigrants brought with them from Ireland, also an old chest, and a pair of iron-framed spetacles which belong to the emigrant John Walker. So far as I know this is all that is left of the things which this family brought from their old home across the water. Commentary The above was recounted by Margaret Dabney Walker (1866-?) Margaret was the daughter of :James Alexander Walker (1822-1897), son of :Thomas Hudson Walker (1874-?) = Elizabeth Culton (?-?), son of :John Walker (1747-1814) = Margaret Hudson (?-?), son of :Alexander Walker (1716-c1786) = Jane Hammer (1729-1798), son of :John Walker II (c1682-1734) = Katherine Rutherford (c1682-1738) was was the daughter of :John Rutherford (?-?)= Isabella Alleine (?-?) Margaret, the source of the above, was apparently a correspondant with White. While this is a long chain for oral transmission, it at least indicates where White got the identity of Katherine's mother. Perhaps she got it from other sources as well. Whether this source is accurate or not, is another matter. I have no specific reason to doubt this connection. Its worth noting that Margaret takes the line no further back than Isabella, and certainly makes no mention of Rev. Samuel Rutherford or Rev. Joseph Alleine. That, of course, does not mean there is no connection, only that Margaret wasn't the source for that connection. It is also worth noting that Margaret Walker and her family remained in the Walkers Creek watershed continuously since the time of Alexander Walker (1716-c1786). This may give added credence to the idea that a family tradition would be preserved over such a long period of time. It would seem easier for such tradtions to be preserved when there are other close family members living nearby who can assist in the recounting of the tale. ---- (1). (2). (3) The location of this home is clearly shown on the 1883 Carmichael map of Rockbridge County. It is shown at a distance of about 1 mile from the confluence of Hays and Walkers Creeks, on the Walkers Creek road. Category:Rutherfordiana